{"id":34003,"date":"2024-01-23T19:43:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T00:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/?p=34003"},"modified":"2024-01-23T19:43:52","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T00:43:52","slug":"blizzard-announces-new-overwatch-2-esports-series-for-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/blizzard-announces-new-overwatch-2-esports-series-for-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Blizzard announces new Overwatch 2 esports series for 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Blizzard Entertainment has joined forces with global esports tournament operator ESL FACEIT Group to establish the Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) as the main esports ecosystem for <a href=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/overwatch\/\" title=\"Overwatch betting guide\">Overwatch 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This collaboration comes on the heels of the shutdown of the <a href=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/overwatch-league\/\" title=\"Overwatch League betting guide\">Overwatch League<\/a>, the premier franchised esports league for the game.<\/p>\n<p>The OWCS will feature open tournament circuits in North America, Europe, and Asia, with LAN tournaments held at DreamHack events.<\/p>\n<p>The new competitive circuit is designed to be more traditional, open, always-on, and global, in contrast to the Overwatch League&#8217;s slot-based franchise model.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_34006\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34006\" style=\"width: 709px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Overwatch-2-Esports-Road-Map.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"709\" height=\"399\" class=\"size-full wp-image-34006 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Overwatch-2-Esports-Road-Map.webp 709w, https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Overwatch-2-Esports-Road-Map-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Overwatch-2-Esports-Road-Map-48x27.webp 48w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 100vw, 709px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 709px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 709\/399;\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Overwatch-2-Esports-Road-Map.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"709\" height=\"399\" class=\"size-full wp-image-34006\" srcset=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Overwatch-2-Esports-Road-Map.webp 709w, https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Overwatch-2-Esports-Road-Map-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Overwatch-2-Esports-Road-Map-48x27.webp 48w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 100vw, 709px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34006\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The OWCS schedule for 2024. Image via Blizzard Entertainment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Unlike the Overwatch League, which was primarily North America-focused, the OWCS aims for a more international circuit.<\/p>\n<p>The tournament will have open qualifiers and tournaments for players in North America, EMEA, and Asia, with the Asian operations organized by Korean tournament organizer WDG.<\/p>\n<p>In 2024, the OWCS will include two major tournaments, the DreamHack Dallas Major in late May and June and the OWCS World Finals at DreamHack Stockholm.<\/p>\n<p>These LAN events will showcase the top eight OWCS teams from around the world.<\/p>\n<p>To enhance path-to-pro opportunities, Overwatch 2 esports will be integrated into the FACEIT platform.<\/p>\n<p>FACEIT plans to provide a consistent schedule of events and content for aspiring OWCS players and support third-party competitions and experiences.<\/p>\n<p>Craig Levine, Co-CEO of ESL FACEIT Group, emphasized the global experience the partnership aims to create, stating, \u201cOWCS introduces a new era of Overwatch esports while honoring the traditions and passion built by Overwatch esports.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Blizzard&#8217;s plans for OWCS represent a shift from the exclusive franchised model of the Overwatch League, focusing on creating more opportunities for players and fostering community engagement.<\/p>\n<p>The circuit will be operated by EFG in North America and EMEA, while WDG will handle operations in Asia.<\/p>\n<p>The OWCS structure aims to promote consistent, always-on events, providing a structured environment for teams to grow and develop.<\/p>\n<p>The season will conclude with a finals tournament in Sweden in November, marking the return of tier-one Overwatch gameplay in Europe.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/news\/\" class=\"contentLinkBtn\">More esports news<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blizzard has joined forces with esports tournament operator ESL FACEIT Group to establish the Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":34007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1945,3576,2799,1000,3574,85,3575],"class_list":["post-34003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-blizzard-entertainment","tag-craig-levine","tag-esl-faceit","tag-overwatch-2","tag-overwatch-champions-series","tag-overwatch-league","tag-owcs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34003"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34003"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34005,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34003\/revisions\/34005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}